At O'Hara, band of brothers takes up Coach Algeo's mission

By
Matt Smith, Delaware County Daily Times

Saturday, August 23, 2014

MARPLE — Cardinal O’Hara football won’t be the same when the Lions’ season gets under way a week from now in Ocean City, N.J.

They will play their annual “Boardwalk Bowl” game next Saturday morning with heavy hearts, the first of many in which they’ll dedicate to their late coach, Dan Algeo, who died suddenly July 3 from complications stemming from a heart attack.

Mere weeks before the start of fall practice, O’Hara was forced to pick up the pieces and come up with an unexpected contingency plan.

Ryan Wolski, a 2008 O’Hara graduate, is one of a handful of Algeo’s former players who came to the aid of the program. John Ward was on the team that captured a Philadelphia Catholic League championship in 2004, which was Algeo’s first year. Andrew Onimus also played for Algeo and graduated from O’Hara in 2010. They came back this year simply to offer a helping hand.

“It was a no-brainer for us,” said Wolski, who is working as the team’s wide receivers coach. “We said, ‘OK, what can we do to keep this program going and keep Dan’s memory going?’ A bunch of us called each other and got the ball rolling. We had a great turnout and we have a lot of great coaches on staff. It’s absolutely great to see this all happening. It really makes you proud.”

Former Philadelphia Eagles center and ex-O’Hara head coach Gerry Feehery, as well as Rick Costello and Jay Stretch, who were assistants for Bob Ewing, the winningest coach in school history, also returned to familiar ground. Fran Grady was on Ewing’s 1985 PCL championship squad, and is now back at his old stomping grounds.

O’Hara has comprised a collection of old- and new-school minds on its staff for the 2014 season.

“The kids know the main reason we’re here is to help them become better players,” Wolski said. “Everybody has gotten together and is contributing to the cause here. We want to help, we want to keep the O’Hara football tradition alive and well. Gerry Feehery played in the NFL however many years ago and we get along great. Everybody knows the goal here ... and that is to keep the program moving forward.”

Paul Strus, who assisted Algeo the previous nine seasons as the Lions’ special-teams guru, was named head coach on an interim basis in July. While Strus doesn’t lack experience in the coaching field, he admits that running a team under such circumstances is something he can’t do alone. The Lions’ coaches are taking an all-hands-on-deck approach as they get to know their players.

“A lot of people are very caring about this school, this sport and this program. From guys like Gerry, whose son played for Dan, to guys that played for Dan who just graduated from college. They all know the kids have been dealt a tough card,” Strus said. “I’m not Danny. I can’t coach like that, but I can coach with a lot of what Danny had in mind. That’s one of the reasons I was assigned this task. I feel very honored in that respect. We’re not so much mourning the loss of Danny now as we are embracing a lot of the things he wanted for this program. He wanted to have a strong alumni influence and by the looks of our staff, it’s really come about. He left unfinished business and we’re here to finish it for him.”

This season, the Lions and every Catholic League team will honor Algeo’s memory with “DA” decals on their helmets. In addition, the Lions plan to have a moment of silence prior to each game.

Other members of Strus’ staff include Courtney Williams, who was a standout at George Washington High School in the early 2000s. Williams is the older brother of O’Hara All-Delco and current Carolina Panthers rookie, Corey “Philly” Brown.

The show of support for the O’Hara football program has been overwhelming in a time of despair.

“It’s almost to the point where, I don’t think it’s hit many of us yet, to be honest. You almost feel like that at some point he’s going to walk down here and be at practice,” Wolski said.

Algeo would be proud to see that his program is in good hands.

“It’s going to be an emotional year,” Strus said. “Danny always used the phrase ‘good stuff’ and that’s what he’d be saying right now.”